The Wounded Blue with Lt. Randy Sutton

When Randy Sutton, founder of The Wounded Blue, takes the stage, you can't help but be moved by his stories of valor and sacrifice. Our latest leadership conference episode transports you to Eureka, Nevada, where Randy's powerful seminar addresses the alarming reality and challenges faced by our law enforcement heroes injured in the line of duty. Through the poignant tale of Bob Bemis, a former sergeant whose life was forever changed on a fateful day, we gain not just an understanding of the physical toll but the emotional scars borne by officers like him. The Wounded Blue emerges as a beacon of hope, providing essential support and ensuring that these guardians of peace are "never forgotten, never alone."

Gratitude punctuates this episode as we honor the service and commitment of those who don the badge and uniform. Echoing Randy's dedication, we extend a heartfelt thank you to him and organizations like The Wounded Blue, underscoring their pivotal role in law enforcement support. The conversation rounds off with an invitation to the National Law Enforcement Survival Summit, an event geared toward nurturing the well-being of our officers in every aspect of their lives. Join us for a compelling narrative that not only celebrates the courage of our police officers but also champions their journey towards healing and resilience.

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Transcript

Intro/Outro: 0:02

Welcome to Courageous Leadership with Travis Yates, where leaders find the insights, advice and encouragement they need to lead courageously.

Travis Yates: 0:12

Welcome back to the show. I'm so honored you decided to join us today and this week we are live in Eureka, Nevada, at their leadership conference, hosted by Eureka County Sheriff Jesse Watts. This is day one, and the day one presenter was Randy Sutton and his excellent seminar, sponsored by the Wounded Blue, who Randy is of course the founder of, titled Walking with the Wounded Leadership organization and peerer Response to Life-Changing Line of Duty Injury. If you don't know who Randy Sutton is, I'm not going to tell you. You've been sleeping for the last 30 years. He's the most recognized man in this profession, randy Sutton. How are you doing, sir? I am fantastic.

Randy Sutton: 1:00

It was a great day here in Eureka Nevada.

Travis Yates: 1:04

Well, let me give you your first impressions. You came in late last night. You came through a part of Nevada. Even though you are housed in Las Vegas, you've never been to this part of Nevada. Kind of give the audience that isn't here the description of what they're missing not being in Eureka.

Randy Sutton: 1:19

I wish I could spend more time here. Quite honestly, it was a hell of a journey up here, flew into Reno and then drove almost four hours to get up here through some of the most beautiful country imaginable Rolling hills and mountains that are snow-capped, and we went through some snow. We went through some rain, sunshine, and then went through a little town called austin, which I thought was amazing. Been you know since 1863 and they haven't changed the anything no, literally going through these towns.

Travis Yates: 1:57

It's like you're in the civil war era, it is and eureka.

Randy Sutton: 2:01

Um, I really wish I could spend some more time up here. It's beautiful, it is like a frontier town and you can tell that the sheriff, that's the sheriff.

Travis Yates: 2:12

Yeah, it's so unique because it's almost like this part of the country has been sort of stopped in time. And if you want to know the history of this area, during the Civil War they used the gold in this area to fund the Civil War and they're still actually operating gold and silver mines up here. But of course in the 1800s it was Eureka. We found gold and that's where we are today. And Randy fantastic presentation, you and Bob. I want you to talk a little bit about Bob. You really brought the house down in this eight-hour presentation today.

Travis Yates: 2:44

We're going to have you on later to sort of tell your life story, because there may be somebody under the age of 30 that doesn't know who you are, but you've had an incredible life on the show Cops, in several movies, including Casino. You know more people than I've ever could even think of knowing. You have connections all over this country. But you found yourself the legacy of your life. I've told you this personally. I believe the Wounded Blue will be the legacy that Randy Sutton is known for and you were known for so many things. Now, but I believe by the time it's over with we've got a good 20, 30 years left Randy Sutton's name will be associated with the Wounded Blue Kind of talk to our audience, because that's what this class was born out of. Talk to our audience of how you got there and what's going on with the Wounded Blue today.

Randy Sutton: 3:25

Sure thing, yeah. The Wounded Blue is the national assistance and support organization for injured and disabled law enforcement officers. It's a 501c3 charity. It has been operational. We will actually be celebrating our fifth year in operation next month.

Randy Sutton: 3:42

We were born purposefully during Police Week, national Police Week, which is in the middle of May of 2019. And we will be beginning our fifth year in service this May. So the reason for the organization and first of all, is an organization that should not need to exist. That's one of the you know, I'll know when I'm a success Travis is when this organization does not need to exist. Yep, because it was born from pain.

Randy Sutton: 4:17

It was born from the pain of law enforcement officers who have been injured or disabled, either physically or emotionally and psychologically, or disabled either physically or emotionally and psychologically, and being thrown away by their agencies, by their cities and sometimes even by their peers, which is the most heartbreaking. The law enforcement profession we know is dangerous. It's dangerous physically in that there are attacks on law enforcement officers literally every single day. We know now that every single day, a police officer is being shot in the line of duty in this country. Actually, it's more than one a day 378 cops were shot. Just last year alone and so far this year more than 100 have been shot. That doesn't count all of the other injuries and assaults.

Travis Yates: 5:03

Last year more than 60,000 were physically assaulted in the line of duty, and that is a startling startling statistic and I want to stop you at that point because I want our audience to understand this that 60,000 numbers, with 50% of the agencies reporting the numbers. We actually don't know how horrific the injuries have been to our profession because there's not a national reporting database. So those numbers sound dramatic. It's much worse than that.

Randy Sutton: 5:30

It is. And when we say physically assaulted, that means they were shot, they were stabbed, they were beaten, they were hit with bricks, they were kicked, they were I mean, you name it but those physical assaults ran the gamut a push to literally a fatal injury. And so those are the physical injuries. But the injuries to law enforcement officers go far, far deeper, and post-traumatic stress injury you'll notice I say the word injury as opposed to post-traumatic stress disorder is because we believe that those emotional and psychological injuries can be fixed just like any other injury. It doesn't have to become a disorder and it only becomes a disorder when it's not addressed. So we in the Wounded Blue believe that all law enforcement officers who are injured or disabled in the line of duty have to be dealt with respect, with dignity, with honor, and that is far, far from the case in many, many places today.

Randy Sutton: 6:38

So you know, unfortunately, the Wounded Blue was born from my own situation, which took place when I was permanently disabled in the line of duty due to a stroke and a heart condition, and it literally ended my police career. It almost ended my life. And then my own department turned its back on me and just said we're not paying your medical bills and we're not giving you your benefits. And I was absolutely stunned, travis. It was such a feeling of betrayal. It was a feeling of being lonely and I thought I was the Lone Ranger. And I came to find out through my contacts with many, many officers who connected with me simply because they knew who I was from the law enforcement community because of my visibility, that this was happening all across America. Terrible, terrible, and I mean what happened to me was I had a stroke but we had officers who were being shot in the head and were being abandoned. Their injuries were just simply not even taken seriously by their cities and they were just not getting the proper medical care. And it's happening today, it's happening right now.

Travis Yates: 7:48

Yeah, listen, it's almost tough to listen to these stories and it is so criminal what leaders in our organizations across the country have done to us. The word betrayal that is such a pinpoint word because I've talked to so many people, I have experienced it that word of I put my heart and soul into this line of work, my heart and soul into this community, this agency, and then, when I need you, you not only turn your back, you walk away and make it as difficult as humanly possible, in fact to the point of really bad stuff In fact we found that physical injuries, which occur sometimes, can be healed much faster than the psychological injuries that occur from the administrations of our nation's law enforcement officers once they become physically injured.

Randy Sutton: 8:44

Nation's law enforcement officers, once they become physically injured, sometimes their physical injuries, you know, can be healed through medicine. Psychological and emotional injuries are far different when those officers feel betrayed by their cities, by their counties, by their law enforcement agencies. In response to the physical injury you know, when you get physically injured in the line of duty, whether it's shot or you know, you face, you know, a physical pain so debilitating that literally suicide can become the byproduct of how they were treated in relation to a physical injury. And there's nothing that I find more offensive than a suicide that can be prevented simply by treating people with respect and dignity that they deserve.

Travis Yates: 9:45

And that's why we're all in this. I'm sold out for the Wounded Blue because obviously you listen to a leadership podcast, but leadership has created this. This is why the Wounded Blue has to exist. This is why Randy's having to say this, because our own leaders have abandoned the men and women behind the badge. And you can do this while you're listening. Go to thewoundedblueorg and do whatever you can to support, reach out to Randy, reach out to the board, reach out, donate Anything helps, because I want people to know this.

Travis Yates: 10:14

We're inundated with nonprofits and causes all the time. Randy Sutton has spent thousands and thousands of hours throughout the course of the five years and anybody that's launched a organization knows the tireless work, the thankless work that goes into that to get it to the point today where you're about to really hear about the things they're doing. And Randy Sutton hadn't taken a dime, which is I actually was almost offended when I heard that, because I know the work that he's gone into, that, and you just can't say that about hardly any non-profits at the level they are now, but they're about to get really big, doing some amazing things. And, randy, that is what born is out of this training you. Obviously the Wounded Blue offers training. This is their signature course. You and Bob taught that today. Kind of talk to us about that course and why it's so important, sure thing?

Randy Sutton: 11:02

Bob Bem Bemis is part of the Wounded Blue. He's one of our training coordinators. Bob has a very, very unique story as well. He was a sergeant with the Pennsylvania State Police. He was a trainer, he was an athlete, his passion was jujitsu and long-distance running. And that all ended when, because of his call to duty, he was actually off duty and he was in his unmarked patrol car.

Travis Yates: 11:33

Coming from a training class.

Randy Sutton: 11:34

Coming from a training class and he saw someone in need on the side of the road. Their vehicle was disabled and, because he cares so much, he stopped to assist. And that stopping to assist radically changed his life. He got out of his car. As he was walking over to give help, another truck struck the back of his police car, which then hit him, causing him to receive devastating injuries as a result. I mean, the fact that he is still alive is only because he was in such tremendous physical condition, but he was blinded in one eye, traumatic injuries all over his body. He's paralyzed from the knees down and yet he continues to serve in such a dramatic way.

Randy Sutton: 12:29

And he and I give this presentation called Walking with the Wounded. And this is something that I don't believe any other law enforcement instructor has ever talked about, about what happens when a police officer is severely injured in the line of duty, both from the standpoint of leadership and also peers. You know, one thing that we hear is hey, listen, I was severely injured in the line of duty, I was shot and I can't walk anymore, and after three weeks nobody even came to see me anymore, and that feeling of being basically abandoned is so debilitating. So even it's not just from a leadership standpoint. We need to take better care of each other.

Travis Yates: 13:18

Yeah, amazing stuff, amazing stuff. So, randy, where can they reach out to you? Where can they reach out to Wounded Blue? Where can people get help? Because let's talk about the Wounded Blue and what they offer to people that need it.

Randy Sutton: 13:29

Right, we're a very unique organization. We are a national peer support organization. Everybody on the team of the Wounded Blue is a trained and certified peer support team member. That means that they go through the training to be certified as a peer counselor. And the officers on the team some have been shot, some have been stabbed, we have people in wheelchairs, we have people that have been blinded, and yet they're true heroes because they continue to serve.

Randy Sutton: 14:00

And that's the most amazing thing about our peer team Despite their physical limitations, despite having some have faced, you know, debilitating post-traumatic stress, and come out on the other side, and yet they want to continue to serve. And that's what heroism truly is. It is despite your own limitations, despite your own traumas, you want to continue to serve and they continue to serve their brothers and sisters. They're heroes, and I mean they literally are saving lives. Travis, I can't tell you the number of cops who come up to me and said Randy, if it weren't for your organization, I was going to kill myself. I mean, it's that dramatic, it's that real and that's a testament to the dedication of the peer support team of the Wounded Blue. And the thing is here we are literally a resource for every cop in America and every police department in America. We're not the enemies of administrations. We want to be a resource to help them. Help their cops.

Travis Yates: 15:03

So if there's an agency that doesn't have a peer support team, you've got it.

Randy Sutton: 15:06

And even if they do have a peer support team, let's look at the realities, because we face reality every single day. The organization I was a member of, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police they had a peer support team even before I came on and that's a long time ago before peer support was really even recognized. But even agencies that try to do it right, that create a peer team for all the right reasons, there is an inherent distrust of law enforcement administrations by the rank and file. Whether it's warranted or not doesn't matter. The fact is it's a reality.

Randy Sutton: 15:42

So a lot of these officers, when they know that they need help, they're still hesitant to reach out to their own peer team because, first of all, they may know they may be their old partners, and we all know that police agencies are kind of like Peyton Place. You know, everybody knows everybody else's business and so, even though they may be quote, confidential, unquote, are they really? And that's what's on the mind of all these cops. So even the agencies that try to do it right, we're a resource for them. I'm working with with Metro right now to be an alternate to their peer team for those, those who don't feel comfortable going to the peer team of the agency utilize us. That's what we're here for. We're completely confidential, we're free, we don't charge anybody anything and literally we're going to double the size of the peer team because of the amount of and we've helped more than 15,000 cops in the last five years. That's an astounding number, travis, and it shows you we haven't even scratched the surface, because most agencies don't know we even exist.

Travis Yates: 16:52

Yeah, well, they're about to be and you've got some amazing things coming up. You've got a conference coming up. I think everybody should be interested. Let's talk about the conference, when it is and how people can sign up for it.

Randy Sutton: 17:00

Absolutely. This is our signature conference. It's called the National Law Enforcement Survival Summit and that survival word means survival in all aspects of surviving a law enforcement career, not just physically, but emotionally and psychologically and with relationships, financially, spiritually. There's so many aspects. You know we want every cop in America to go through their career. They're going to face challenges but to end their career with retirement, a retirement that leaves them happy and healthy and having many more years of life that they can enjoy. And we all know the unfortunate reality is that cops have a much lower life expectancy than their civilian counterparts and we're trying to combat that. And it's a tall order. But the Survival Summit is designed to be a very, very unique summit and that is to encompass all of these aspects that are really not available anywhere else under the same canopy, if you will. And I want to say this that the way this became a reality is because of our partnership with a business in Las Vegas, guy Martin of Martin Harris Construction.

Randy Sutton: 18:24

I went to hit him up for a donation when we first started and I was looking for five or 10,000 bucks, and he said to me let me ask you something, randy, I could write you a check for five or 10 G's right now. But if you could create something that would curtail injuries, either physical or emotional, before they get injured, what would that look like? And I said, well, I've already been thinking about that and I would create a training conference that encompasses all of these areas to prepare them. And he said, that's more like it, randy, what would that cost? And, travis, I didn't know. I just made up a number. I said $50,000. And I was wrong. It was a lot more than that. But he made it happen. He wrote that check and he's been writing a check for the last four years. Because of his compassion, because of his belief in law enforcement, we've now touched the lives of thousands of law enforcement officers across the country.

Travis Yates: 19:24

It's unbelievable man. I appreciate you taking the time. Randy, there's no words to discuss to our audience what you mean to this profession and what the Wounded Blue means to this profession. I just need to tell you listening to go to thewoundedblueorg and help them out. They are the real deal. Play part, come to the conference. If you can't do that, get sign up for a monthly donation. Anything helps. They are doing everything they can with every penny they get and it's going to help real police officers in need. Randy sutton, I could never. I could thank you every second, every day. I can never thank you enough for what you've done.

Randy Sutton: 20:00

Thank you, sir, for being here let's say one thing Any officer who's listening to this, whether you are current or you have been a police officer because we know that even after leaving the profession, it doesn't end your trauma reach out to TheWoundedBlue at TheWoundedBlueorg, or hit us up on our hotline TWB Talk that's TWB Talk and reach out to one of our members and we will be there for you. We believe in our tagline of the Wounded Blue is never forgotten, never alone.

Travis Yates: 20:37

That's a tagline they hold true to folks. Thank you for listening. Thank you to Randy Sutton. If you're listening, just remember this lead on and stay courageous.

Intro/Outro: 20:46

Thank you for listening to Courageous Leadership with Travis Yates. We invite you to join other courageous leaders at www. travisyates. org.